Elsa's Metamorphosis: Melting
by tfwyouloveher
Summary: Elsa and Anna have been drifting apart, but 2015 is going to change their lives forever. This story details the development of their relationship throughout the new year, as they face conflict, friendship, tragedy, love, and dark secrets. Eventual Elsanna; story unfolds in real-time, in our world. The main character alternates between chapters (see for yourself). [mAU] [live]
1. 2015: Part I

_...For never was a story of more woe_

_Than that of Juliet and her Romeo._

The familiar tragedy inspired a sigh of disappointment. Standing up from her cluttered desk, Elsa directed her gaze to the short stack of new books beside the bedroom door. She wanted to save the gifts for later, but after only ten days, her self-discipline was already wearing thin.

_Come on. Can't you reread another book? You know you'll be dying for more novels before your next birthday. And then, you'll regret this._

Before she could come to a decision, a hurried knock came from the door, startling her. "Hurry, Elsa, the ball is about to drop!" she heard her Aunt Gerda call through the wooden door.

"What ball? What are you talking about?" Elsa questioned, reluctant to open the door, and a little frustrated that her thought process had been interrupted for such nonsense.

"The Times Square Ball Drop! It's almost 2015!" Aunt Gerda squealed through the door, completely unwavered by Elsa's apparent lack of interest. "Now come on out here!

Elsa stared warily at the wall before her, listening to Gerda scamper away. She did not want to attend a group event, but this dread was outweighed by her desire to please her aunt. The woman had always tried so hard to keep their awkward family intact, and asked only for Elsa's presence. She couldn't refuse.

* * *

As she approached the living room, she could hear that her sister would not be so easily convinced. Anna had always been stubborn, but it was only recently that she had begun to openly argue against Gerda.

Elsa placed herself on a recliner in the corner to see how the situation would play out. After a few moments of meaningless debate, Anna, reaching the end of her tether, shot their more understanding Uncle Kai a desperate look, silently begging him to back up her claims. Seeing this, Gerda mimicked the move, and suddenly all eyes were on Kai. He paused, collecting his thoughts, and then told Anna that she could leave as soon as the ball drop was over. With a smile he looked intently for peace in the girl's eyes, but Anna only scowled and threw her hands up into the air.

"Fine! I'll stay here for the next five minutes. But then I'm gone!" Anna said, exasperated. At this, Gerda thanked Anna far too graciously, and sat down. Anna stalked angrily over to Elsa and sat on the arm of the chair.

_Think of something comforting to say. She obviously needs a friend right now._

"They dragged you over here too?" Anna asked. Before Elsa had a chance to reply, Anna quietly began to vent her frustration.

_Oh, so that's why she came over here. She wants someone to listen to her._

"Of all the days in the year, they had to pick today to hold us captive. I can't believe this. Saminic, Rafiki, and Flarthur invited me to some sort of celebration tonight."

_Who names their kid Flarthur? Where has Anna been spending her time, a hippie commune?_

Seeing Elsa's raised eyebrow, Anna explained, "I don't think those are their real names. They go by aliases over there. I don't use one, though; they knew my real name before I knew their fake ones. They try to stay anonymous so that their whereabouts are more difficult to trace."

_I've heard about Anna's weird friends before, but this is stranger than I thought… _

Before Elsa could ask, Anna was already detailing the reasons why these people were on the run. She was now using more hushed tones, "Yeah, these guys are off the grid. They have complete freedom..." she glanced at the adults across the room, "...unlike us. They do whatever they want in that old car factory."

Elsa was well aware of the gloomy old factory outside the city. In a different age, the place was a center of economy, providing hundreds of jobs to the community. Those days were long gone, and their prosperity with them. The factory now loomed over the cold, desolate landscape like ancient ruins. The sight of the place had always made her uneasy, and it disturbed her to think that Anna might be spending her time with questionable people there.

Anna did not see Elsa's growing anxiety, and continued, "Saminic runs the place, and Rafiki is growing marijuana there, and Flarthur comes into town to sell it. They pay for their food that way."

Elsa was horrified. _When did Anna start hanging out with these kinds of people? She's not safe in that place._

When Anna turned to see Elsa's face, the former reacted immediately, standing up and defending herself. "No, no, you're getting the wrong impression of them! Stop that! They're not criminals-er, well, they _are_ criminals, but they aren't wrong-I mean, they don't do wrong things, unless you're asking a policeman; he would say that they are doing wrong things, and a jury, too, but-"

"I get it," Elsa weakly interrupted. She attempted a smile, but her eyes betrayed her. Anna could feel the older girl's pain, and sat back down on the seat of the recliner.

_Conceal it. The last thing she needs is another judge._

Anna lit up with an idea, but then forced herself to be calm. "Why don't you just come and meet them? They are nice people. If you came face-to-face with them, you would understand."

Elsa looked down and began rubbing her hands together. "Anna, I… you know I can't do that." She started feeling the cold rise up from beneath her skin.

"No; I don't know, actually," Anna replied, frustration seeping into her voice. "In fact, I have _never_ been able to figure out why you can't do these things!"

"I don't… I don't do _people_." Elsa replied nonchalantly, hoping that a lack of emotion might calm her sister.

It did not serve the intended effect; in fact, Elsa's seeming apathy for the situation only inflamed her.

Anna lost her composure, standing and throwing her hands above her head again. "Oh yeah, I forgot, you don't talk to people. You just spend all of your time with your books. How could I have expected you to know what it's like to have friends? Of course you'll never understand why someone would befriend these people."

Elsa frowned, visibly hurt by Anna's comments. The redhead would have left it there, but she had already started to release long-suppressed emotions, and there was no stopping now.

"Don't be so sore about my relationships when you don't even have any!" she exclaimed as her final blow.

_How could she say that? You have hardly said anything!_

Elsa sat speechless for a few seconds, then finally sputtered out, "I am safe with my books." She thought about her statement, and decided where to go with it. "Those people are dangerous," she said, with a much more determined tone. "You shouldn't-

"I can do whatever the hell I want! It's my life! Stop trying to control me!" Anna blurted out.

Elsa was taken aback. _Did Anna just curse?_ Elsa felt her eyes widen, watching unnatural frost creep up the windows.

_No. Don't let this get out of hand. Don't let them see._

"May I please be excused?" Elsa asked, standing up from the recliner to face the adults, trying to be as calm as possible.

"But honey, there is less than a minute left. Look, the ball is already lowering!" Gerda replied excitedly.

"I _really_ need to go." Elsa pleaded.

_Well, so much for being subtle. Now everyone thinks that you have a serious problem._

"Like I told Anna," Uncle Kai replied, more forcefully, "you may leave as soon as the countdown ends."

_Elsa, you do have a serious problem._

Elsa carefully lowered herself back into the chair, but Anna was not going to let up. With tears beginning to fill her angry eyes, she hissed at Elsa, "You can't even deal with conflict _with your own sister_ without fleeing?" A solitary tear slowly rolled down Anna's stern face. "When did you decide that I was no longer worthy of your time?" she asked, turning away to choke back sobs.

_Did you… did you do this? Did you bring her to this?_

Elsa watched her, speechless. She could distantly hear a countdown begin from 10, but she was so engrossed with Anna's words that the cheering sounded like a far-off college lecture. "Anna…"

_9_

"…I am _so sorry_!" Elsa breathed.

_8_

She gently placed her hand on Anna's shoulder.

_7_

"I would rather spend my time with you than anyone else" Elsa murmured, in the most comforting tone she could manage.

_6_

Anna did not turn back to face Elsa, but her sobs were reduced to heavy breathing.

_That's working! Keep doing that!_

_5_

"If I could always be with you, Anna, I would." Elsa said, softly tugging on Anna's shoulder, carefully trying to turn her around.

_4_

Anna suddenly turned back to face Elsa. "Well then, why can't you?" she demanded, her face a melting pot of frustration, heartache, and confusion.

_3_

Elsa's smile immediately narrowed, and she let her shoulders tense up. _Oh no. How did you let it come to this? Now you're trapped. You can't tell her. Don't let them know!_

_2_

Elsa looked down at her own hands. "Anna, it's… it's for the same reason that I care about your choice of friends."

_1_

Anna watched her sister quizzically, as if clarification was hidden between Elsa's pale cheeks.

The clamor that filled the room was drowned out by the sisters' intense focus on one another. Between them was only silence. Elsa finally spoke up. "I love you, Anna… "

_She won't understand. Not with just that. That's no reason to shut out your sister!_

The older girl, for a brief moment, considered surrendering to the panic and telling Anna everything. Her supernatural secret was a perilous burden, and she wanted to relieve herself of it… but reminded herself that this was not an option. Realizing that there was no sufficient explanation, she only declared the tragic outcome of the circumstances.

Elsa closed her eyes "…but I have to let you go." The statement seemed to cement the terrible truth that both sisters had been unwilling to admit since their parents died, and Elsa felt emotional blades lodge themselves in her heart. Anna's eyes lost focus, and although she was still turned to Elsa, she appeared to be looking past her.

Hearing the violent winds outside, Elsa forced herself to rise. _Stand up, you have to go. You have to leave this situation now!_

Elsa gave Anna one more apologetic glance, and turned, softly walking into the darkness of the hallway, returning to her life of solitude.

_If only she could know..._


	2. 2015: Part II

**A/N: Welcome to the ride! I'm glad you'll be joining me. Now that you're getting settled in, there are a few things I should explain. And then we'll get to the story, I promise.**

**Firstly, this is supposed to happen in real-time. That means that each chapter will be taking place at approximately the time it happens in the story. Of course, that doesn't apply to this chapter, which leads me to the next thing...**

**This chapter was WAY late. As in, a month late. In the future, you can expect chapters to be closer to the date they actually happen on.**

**Different chapters will be from different points of view, alternating between Anna and Elsa. I'll try to be consistent with the pattern, but I can't promise you anything.**

**Future chapters are going to be a bit more fast-paced than this one, too. Keep that in mind.**

**I think that's it for now. I'll do a bit more talking at the end of the chapter, but for now, let's get to the story!**

* * *

Anna gritted her teeth and slowly turned up the volume dial on the car radio, simultaneously daring to press the gas pedal even harder.

_You're going to get yourself killed. Or even worse, arrested!_

But Anna did not soften the pressure on the gas pedal. She only gazed with determination at the needle on the speedometer.

_90...95...100...105…_

She watched as the city lights that flanked the highway diminished, until she was surrounded by complete darkness, interrupted only by the stars above her and the dimly-lit pavement that sped through the scope of her headlights.

Even as she overstimulated her senses, she still could not manage to banish Elsa from her thoughts. Her parting words continued to reverberate within Anna.

"_I have to let you go." What is that supposed to mean? How could she say that to me?_

Anna felt her eyes dampen as her feeling of betrayal transformed into one of outrage.

_Well then, you want to let me go? I'll go._

A warm tear rolled down her increasingly anxiety-ridden face.

_I'll go._

* * *

The vehicle came to a bumpy stop on gravel, and the rumbling engine went silent. Anna stepped out of the car and looked up at the structure before her. Ivy and rust climbed the long-abandoned walls of the car factory. In the distance behind her, she could still see the yellow city lights, but they cowered in comparison to the beautiful white stars that gleamed above her.

Anna hesitated before entering the gigantic building, her sister's words continuing to resonate in her.

"_Those people are dangerous."_

Anna felt conflicted, but quickly shook the feeling and resumed her journey to the door, her pace picking up.

_She doesn't even know them. Her judgement is meaningless!_

Past the front door, she walked through a few cobwebby corridors before entering the Great Hall. It was the main room of the factory, and it was roughly the size of a football field; but more than half of the space was currently being taken up by marijuana plants. Despite the sheer size of the farm, though, the plants were very sparsely placed.

As soon as Anna walked into the Great Hall, Flarthur, the youngest person in the room, jumped up out of a lawn chair and ran to her.

"Anna! You're here!" he shouted, running to her with a goofy smile strewn across his prepubescent face. Before he reached her, though, he stopped, wide-eyed, realizing his mistake.

"I mean, hey Anna. What's up?" he corrected himself, glancing at the two much older boys behind him.

Rafiki, the resident pot farmer, began to laugh uncontrollably. He was a scruffy lunatic, who never seemed to slow down.

Anna looked past Flarthur to Rafiki, who was now screaming with laughter.

_What the hell?_

"Is he high?" Anna quietly asked Flarthur.

"Rafiki? Oh, he's always high." the boy giggled. "You should know that by _now_, Anna!" he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I guess so!" she laughed, shaking away her caution.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Saminic regally rising from his huge chair against the opposite wall. As he rose, he stubbed his cigarette in the ashtray on one armrest, and then placed his half-empty beer bottle on the other.

Anna had always been wary of Saminic. Although he had only ever been kind to her, his unpredictability kept Anna on her guard. She eyed him with suspicion as he strode toward her.

_Is-is he walking to you?_

He continued to make a silent beeline across the room to Anna. He did not say a word, but he was clearly focused on her. As his pace quickened, Anna began to panic.

_Yes, he is definitely walking to you. What on Earth does he want? What the hell is he going to do?_

Anna took a step back, her heart beating faster and faster. Saminic looked so concentrated on her, and although he had only begun his journey seconds earlier, he was already halfway to the girl. Anna could feel primal fight-or-flight instincts take hold, and her blood flowed with adrenaline. As he moved closer and closer, she felt like she was watching helplessly as a tidal wave approached.

_Run. Now._

But she didn't run. Some invisible force kept her feet pinned to the ground, and so there was nothing to do but watch as Saminic came within 6 feet of her, with no sign of stopping. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

_This is it. This is the end._

She felt a hand grab her own, and then-

_What?_ Anna's eyes shot open as she felt lips touching the back of her hand. For a moment, she was horrified, but immediately recognized his gesture as one of politeness.

_He's greeting you, dumbass._

The girl exhaled a mighty breath, and couldn't stop the expression of relief from flooding into her face. As her muscles relaxed, she forced a weak laugh.

"You kinda… scared me!" she managed, trying to address her obvious mistake before it could become a point of silent tension.

"Welcome back, Anna." Saminic replied evenly, ignoring her strange behavior.

Still a bit stunned, and quite confused, Anna couldn't seem to conjure up an appropriate reply. Instead of returning to his place on the other side of the room, though, Saminic continued to stare intently at the younger girl, waiting for her response.

After looking over Saminic's shoulder to Flarthur for aid, she murmured, "Thank… thank you, Saminic."

Satisfied, he turned his back to her and began the trek back to his throne.

_Well, that was new. What was that all about?_

While Saminic still had his back to her, Anna silently gestured questioningly to Flarthur, trying to be subtle in her search for answers.

Flarthur had no such goal. He talked loudly, shattering the silence that had blanketed the factory. "We already made our New Year's resolutions. Mine was to eat less chocolate..."

Anna cast a playful expression of hurt at the boy.

"...and Saminic wants to turn our club into an empire," he continued. "2015 is going to be a very eventful year!"

_You have no idea_, a voice in the back of Anna's mind whispered. She ignored it, and instead decided to join in on the excitement. "Wow, that sounds awesome!" she laughed. "Where do we start?"

"I'm going to go down to the candy store and tell the clerk that-"

"No, I mean the 'empire' thing!" she laughed. _What a cute kid._

"Well, we started with a super cool fireworks show!" he answered excitedly. "But you were late," he sighed.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that," she replied sadly, looking down at her feet. "My stupid aunt made me stay for the damned ball drop on T.V." she said, the anger rising in her voice. "My uncle got in on it, too."

_Oh, yeah, and my sister told me that she's disowning me. So there's that._

Her frustration was interrupted by Flarthur's suddenly melancholic tone. "I wish I had family," he said quietly, his eyes growing misty.

_Nice going, jackass._

Anna's face softened, immediately realizing her mistake, but before she could comfort her friend, Saminic spoke up.

"No, you don't." he said forcefully, his voice reverberating throughout the abandoned facility. "It might seem like it would make your life all rainbows and sunshine, but it _doesn't_. Family, in that usage, means someone else controlling you just because they say so. Do you like the freedom you have now?"

Flarthur was staring at Saminic, wide-eyed. This outburst had obviously startled him, but the words were noticeably impacting him. "Y-yes, I do. Very much. But-"

"No. You want freedom? You can't get that with a family. At least, not _that_ kind of family."

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room processed Saminic's words.

He sighed, and his sharp expression morphed into an affectionate smile. "You've said it before, Flarthur, but I don't think you really meant it: We are your family. We will keep you out of danger. We will put food on the table."

He paused, and then continued with even more vigor. "But unlike a genetically forced family, we won't restrict you. Safe and free, right?"

By this time, Saminic was standing in front of Flarthur, and now, the declaration of the group's motto had created an aura of excitement and pride in the group.

"Safe and free." Flarthur affirmed.

"Safe and free!" Rafiki shouted, running in from the entrance, laughing ridiculously. He stumbled, and in an effort to balance himself, overcompensated, and fell directly on his back. He lay there, laughing, and the others laughed with him.

_When did he leave?_

Flarthur turned to Anna, clearly anticipating something from her.

"What?" she asked him, still giggling at Rafiki's efforts to stand.

"Are _you_ safe and free?" he asked rhetorically. It seemed to be less a question than a request to join in on their rallying.

But Anna had a different idea in mind. "Well, I don't think I can really say that. I think that, at this point, I'm more of a friend than a family member," she said, shrugging.

Flarthur's face immediately fell.

_Dammit, just as he finished recovering from your previous offense, you had to go and hurt him again!_

"No, Flarthur, I didn't mean it like that-"

"No, no, you're right," he said quickly. "You don't live with us, or eat our food, or help with the... _moneymaking_. You're a good friend, Anna." He looked down at his feet. "But like you said, you're not a family member."

"Yet," Saminic interjected. During Anna's exchange, he must have quietly slipped behind her, managing not to catch her eye while doing so.

_When did he get behind me?_

Anna quickly turned around to face him, her twin braids whipping around wildly. "What do you mean by that?" she asked sharply, with more venom in her voice than she had intended.

_Calm down. He may be creepy, but he's not hostile._

As usual, he did not take notice of her bitterness, and continued coolly. "You visit us all the time. You are the _only_ person who is even aware of this place. You know us, and we know you. You're 18, you're not legally obligated to stay with your relatives, and you're not passing your high school classes anyways." She cringed at this, but continued listening.

He paused before delivering the final blow. "We can free you from those who hold you back."

She didn't need to think about it for very long before getting excited.

_That sounds… wonderful! Why didn't I think of this?_

Then she remembered-she _had_ thought of this, shortly after turning 18, but at the time, the group didn't have the resources to support another person.

"But how will you afford it?" she reminded him.

He started walking past Anna. "As Flarthur said, I'm changing the way we do things around here. This is going to mean many things for us, one of which is that we'll be producing much more than before."

Now a few feet in front of her, he stopped walking and turned to face Anna. "Another result of these changes is the need for another dealer."

_What? Me… a drug dealer?_

Everyone's eyes were, once again, fixed on Anna, as she formulated a response. The suspense was let down by her anticlimactic answer.

"Wait, what?"

Rafiki laughed at her, and Flarthur rolled his eyes before joining the conversation. "He's offering you a job, Anna!"

_Well, it's either that, or going back to Kai and Gerda._

The thought of her relatives emboldened Anna. "I'll take it!" she said excitedly.

For the first time that night, Saminic looked genuinely surprised, but it was short-lived. After his face had returned to its usual state, he replied, "Well then, the position's yours."

As Saminic returned to his seat, Flarthur began to excitedly tell Anna how much fun they were going to have. And for the first time in forever, Anna felt like things were starting to go her way.

* * *

"Everything will be wonderful from now on!" she exclaimed blissfully.

Rafiki found this particularly humorous, and was seized with hysterics.

"How was that funny?" Anna asked skeptically.

After a few failed attempts, Rafiki finally managed to squeak some words out between his fits of laughter. "You haven't even run away yet!"

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" she countered.

Saminic began the journey to the group from his throne once again, as Rafiki roared with laughter.

_Why does he keep going back to that silly chair?_

"If you're going to join us, then you must do more than just _leave_," Saminic began explaining. "We thrive here because nobody knows our whereabouts. You're going to have to do a lot to make sure that nobody tries to find you here."

"No problem. Tell me what to do and I'll get started."

"Anna," he began, now standing a few feet from her, speaking fixedly with a furrowed brow. "Before you can be free, you have to break your bonds."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, a wave of uncertainty pouring over her.

"You have to sever all of your relationships. All of them. School, friends, family. You have to make sure that none of them will try to find you."

Reality hit Anna hard. She thought about Rapunzel, her best friend. She thought about her grandparents. How would they take the announcement that she was going to be completely detached from them for the foreseeable future?

Even the thought of telling Kai broke her heart a little.

_How can I explain to someone that I won't be able to communicate with them for the next five, ten, fifteen years?_

* * *

Anna left the factory shortly afterwards. As she slowly drove her car down the road towards the city, she muted the radio. The chaos which had engulfed her mind following Saminic's news was completely gone, and she was enveloped with a single unshakeable thought.

_Elsa._

* * *

**A/N: Hi again! I hope you liked the chapter. Again, future chapters are going to be closer to real-time, so please stick with me.**

**Something that I didn't make very clear was that this story begins pre-realization. That is, neither of the girls have feelings for the other at this point. The reason why Elsa was freaking out was because of her ice powers. I would have preferred to let you figure that out, but I was really unclear about it in the last chapter, so... I'll give you that one.**

**I fully intend to keep this going all the way to the end of 2015. If people like it, I might do a sequel for 2016. This is a learning experience for me, so you'll probably see my writing improve(hopefully) as time goes on.**

**Again, thanks for joining me! This will be a very exciting year for the girls, and I hope you enjoy it. _Please_, leave me some constructive criticism in the reviews section.**

**Alright, that's it for long Author's Notes for a while, so you won't need to worry about this happening again. See you soon!**

P.S. You can find me on Tumblr and Reddit under the same username.


	3. The Alchemist: Part I

**This chapter takes place on Saturday, May 2nd, 2015.**

* * *

Elsa found herself walking groggily down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen. It was a crisp Saturday morning, and on mornings like these, she liked to roam the house. The three other residents never missed an opportunity to sleep in, but Elsa preferred to rise at the break of dawn. She hated the sensation of a foggy mind, which oversleeping never failed to deliver.

As she continued to walk towards the kitchen, she struggled to unfog her mind.

And so, in this way, she did not notice until she stood in the kitchen doorway the three people sitting at the table. It was quite the dramatic sight: Gerda was crying on Kai's shoulder, and Kai was looking sadly at the strawberry blonde sitting across from him.

"You knew this would happen eventually," Anna said coldly to Kai, her back to Elsa.

Kai opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when he noticed Elsa lingering in the doorway. He watched her for a few seconds, and in that moment she could see a lifetime of regret in his eyes.

_Oh, no… Anna..._

"What… what's going on here?" Elsa asked loudly, desperately hoping it was not what it seemed to be.

Anna, yet unaware of Elsa's presence, jumped only slightly, but did not yet turn to face her sister. "Elsa, I'm leaving."

_No._

"What do you mean, you're _leaving_?" Elsa asked, taking a step back.

"I mean exactly what it sounds like," she replied evenly, turning to face Elsa.

Elsa shook her head in anguish.

_This can't be happening._

"You've already made it clear that you have no problem letting me go," Anna added, her voice quavering almost imperceptibly.

Memories of her parents came rushing back to Elsa. Fifteen years earlier, they had explained to her the immeasurable importance of a big sister. She had promised that she would be there for Anna when they weren't.

_This is because I shut her out. This is my fault. I failed them._

_I failed her._

Elsa stepped backwards, her eyes filling. She turned to dash down the corridor back to her sanctuary, but it was no longer a hallway. All of a sudden, she was outside, and it was dark. Very dark.

She realized that she was at the base of a gargantuan structure. It looked oddly familiar.

_The old car factory._

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream emanated from within the dark building. Despite her terror, Elsa knew beyond a shadow of a doubt whose voice it was, for it was the only voice in the universe that Elsa would run into a dark, abandoned car factory for.

Try as she may, though, Elsa could not budge her feet. They were cemented to the ground, but nothing could stop her from desperately trying to run to Anna.

* * *

Elsa awoke in a cold sweat. It was the same nightmare again; the first part was, at least. That confrontation in the kitchen was the last time Elsa had seen Anna-now fifteen weeks past. It seemed like an eternity had passed, yet it still plagued her both sleeping and waking.

_I never even apologized. I just ran. And now I probably won't ever see her again._

The new, darker extension to the nightmare, though not based on a memory, did not lighten her mood.

Elsa looked to her window, and it was still dark outside, save for the unnatural glow of the city lights. Glancing at her clock, Elsa saw that it was only 4:41 am.

She knew from experience that any attempt to return to sleep would prove a futile effort, and so she whimpered quietly into her pillow until sunrise.

* * *

Before Anna left, Elsa had been accustomed to anticipating her daily return. Every evening, Elsa would wait quietly in her own room for Anna to walk into the house, just to hear her voice. Even if the words were garbled through the thick walls, the knowledge that Anna was near was enough for her. It made the silent times bearable.

This was a different type of silence; it did not come with the promise of an end. Every second, it was loudly reminding Elsa of her parents, and of Anna. After months of this, Elsa began to be submerged in this sea of unending silence. And so, it was entirely unexpected when Kai and Gerda loudly and inconsiderately burst into her room.

"Elsa!" they shouted over one another. "We're going tomorrow!" exclaimed Gerda. "We're finally gonna go!"

_What on earth is she talking about?_

"You're finally going to get some tan on your skin" Kai laughed.

"I keep telling him," Gerda snickered, "Even with sunblock, you'll get a burn. Not a tan. But he also thought that stupid dress was blue and black, so I guess I'm not surprised."

_Not this again..._

Kai only laughed harder at Gerda's remark. "It's a beautiful vacation destination. See for yourself!" he said jovially, turning Gerda's Galaxy to Elsa.

_Vacation? How can they act so happy when the heart of this household is gone?_

The adults continued to chatter loudly and incoherently until Elsa finally had enough.

"How could you?" she cried, swatting the smartphone down onto the carpet. "Don't you understand?" she shouted, the tears filling her eyes once again. "She's not coming back!"

And with that, she buried her slender face in her delicate hands, in a sloppy effort to conceal her vulnerability.

Fortunately, heavy curtains were hiding the now frosty windows, and the realization that Elsa was crying was enough to distract the couple from the sudden drop in temperature. Immediately sobered by the outburst, Kai sat down beside Elsa on her bed, while Gerda slowly kneeled to retrieve the curiously cold mobile.

"We know she's gone, Elsa," Kai said soothingly. "But it's been almost four months now, and we have no way of knowing where she is. There is just nothing we can do at this point."

_No way of knowing where she is…_

Kai continued to speak, but Elsa was no longer listening. Instead, she was focused on last night's nightmare. Unlike most dreams, this one had not faded within minutes of waking; she still remembered it vividly. She remembered the darkness. She remembered Anna's scream. And she remembered the car factory where it took place.

_The car factory. Of course._

* * *

"A long trip will be good for you, and this one will last a few weeks." Kai said, bringing Elsa out of her trance. "Start packing now; if you're not ready to leave by tomorrow, then we're going without you!" he laughed. "Seriously though."

And with that, he stood up and left her bedroom. Gerda murmured something about icicle decorations and exited, leaving Elsa to secretly contemplate her plan of action.


End file.
